The Lost Prince
by ElizaTellsTheStory
Summary: Years after a violent revolution, rumors whisper that the two Uchiha princes somehow escaped death. Sakura is ready to brush the gossip off, but when a young man being chased by Oto shinobi and looking like the prince collapses on her, she's tempted to believe Naruto's prodding and help the stranger. It doesn't hurt that the stranger also happens to be her ticket to a better life.
1. It's a Rumor, a Legend, a Mystery

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of characters. I am making no profit off of this and am only writing it for my entertainment. The same goes for the story Anastasia.

A/N: I'm a couple days late for this SasuSaku Month prompt (In Another World), but it's gotten a lot bigger than I expected—like turned into a multi-chapter fic big. And I promised myself I wouldn't let myself do a multi-chapter so soon after coming back to writing fanfiction, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. I've been listening to the broadway soundtrack of Anastasia and can't get the idea of Sasuke as Anastasia and Sakura as Dimitri out of my head: Thus my Anastasia inspired AU was born. And just to make it clear, it is an Anastasia _inspired_ AU so it's inspired by both the movie and the musical, and it will follow the formula, but it isn't going to be a complete copy of either the movie or the musical with just names being swapped out. I'm taking some liberties and adapting it to the characters and telling it in my own way. That said, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

Since Anastasia has the alias of Anya, I had to come up with one for Sasuke and chose Hiei since Kishimoto said Sasuke was inspired by a character named Hiei.

Unbeta-ed.

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The Land of Fire was but a shadow of what it had been a mere decade ago. Sakura had only been a child when the Otogakure regime had taken over. There wasn't much she remembered from before, but the night the Uchiha Monarchy was executed was seared in her mind. She remembered taking shelter in an abandoned shop and praying that no one would find her. People were reckless and there were many who had joined in the violence simply for the sake of violence. The gunshots, the clang of metal against metal and the stench of smoke had permeated the air the entire night. The small had even stuck around for days after. It was the night everything had changed.

Life on the streets had never been easy, but the new regime didn't make it any easier. Their new ruler claimed that everything would be equal under his rule, but everyone just seemed poorer instead. The ambitious and unhappy were dealt a swift and harsh punishment, and anyone who so much as stepped out of line risked disappearing. As she grew, Sakura learned to circumvent the Sound shinobi posted around the city. She had tried being a good and loyal Otogakure citizen, but devotion to the state didn't fill her stomach. She had to resort to stealing and bartering for whatever she needed to stay alive.

She was heading back to her current place she'd been squatting for the week with a still warm loaf of bread beneath her oversized and ratty jacket when she found him. He was a pale young man in clothes as worn as hers. The dark bags under his eyes stood out as much as the dark locks of hair on his head against his ashen skin. He seemed to be walking in a daze, and Sakura's heart reached out to him. Yet another poor victim of the new way of life no doubt. The man could barely keep his eyes open. Before she could pull her gaze from him, the loud _pop_ of a truck backfiring had him on his knees with a startled yelp, and Sakura was over to him in a matter of seconds.

"Hey!" She rushed to his side, arms already around him to help him up. "It was just a truck. You're fine." He looked up at her dazedly, eyes blinded by the bright winter sun reflected off the dazzling snow. His expression was a mix sheer exhaustion and fear, but even he took a moment to marvel at the sight in front of him. Pink hair? The regime he'd grown up in had always seemed so colorless. It drained the life out of everything. It must have been a trick of the light.

Against his better judgement, he slumped against her, finally allowing his body to give out on him. He was so tired, he simply had to trust that this person wasn't going to turn him in to the nearest guard.

Sakura pursed her lips together and hauled his arm over her shoulder. She couldn't leave him here, and it was more than clear to her that the stranger needed food and a safe place to rest for the night. With a grunt, she began to half drag him to the abandoned palace she and her friend had made their temporary home. Mentally, she berated herself for her habit of picking up strays when she could barely manage to feed herself.

By the time she'd gotten him to the worn-down room she and Naruto had been calling home, the stranger was out cold and Naruto was scrambling over to her.

"You're late! Where have you been? The city guards have been out for blood today, and—hey, Sakura…who's that?"

"I've been a little busy," she huffed and motioned for him to take the stranger. "I don't know. I just found him like this." As soon as the man was taken from her, she moved to grab a dusty pillow from a formerly extravagant divan. She gave it two pats to rid it of dust and set it on the floor near to the fire. It wouldn't be comfortable, but she figured heat was more important. "Set him down here," she instructed, shrugging off her jacket and laying it out for him on the floor.

"Sakura, you'll never guess what I heard today," Naruto gossiped while he laid the stranger down.

"I hope it's about some magical surplus of food." Sakura pressed a hand against the unconscious man's cheek. His skin was cold to the touch. Taking a long stick she'd brought in days ago, she poked the fire to urge more heat. The wrought iron fire poker that had accompanied the hearth once upon a time had long been stolen along with most objects of worth in the palace.

"I'm being serious! Haven't you heard the news?"

Sakura merely shot Naruto an exasperated look from her place on the floor by the fire and took the bread from inside her jacket. Ripping it into thirds, she tossed one over to the blonde man. Naruto returned her look with a cheshire cat grin. "Don't tell me you were gossiping instead of finding us food," Sakura sighed tiredly.

"No, but Sakura! It was worth it this time!" He scooted closer and cupped his hands around his mouth dramatically, whispering in her ear. "Word on the street says the Uchiha princes somehow escaped the massacre. There are whispers of the Crown Prince surfacing after all these years in Tsukigakure, and his brother is still on the run somewhere. That's why the guards have been so brutal, they're making an example of anyone who so much as implies the Uchiha could take back the throne. Orochimaru is scared." If possible, Naruto's shit eating grin only grew. "They're hunting down anyone who even remotely looks related to the Uchiha line or has anything to do with them. People are just disappearing! I can't believe Orochimaru was so sloppy."

Sakura's green eyes widened at the news. It was too much to take in at once, but one thing was certain. They couldn't stay there. She stuffed the rest of her bread in her mouth and began to spring into action.

"Naruto, you idiot! This is nothing to smile about! Where do you think we are? What do you think they'll do to us if they find us squatting in _the royal palace?_ We'll look like sympathizers to the crown! _"_

Immediately, Naruto's face fell.

"Shit."

…

The stranger woke on a hard ground to the sound of fire crackling, the low hush of hurried voices, and the rustle of movement around the room. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, children's playful laughter faded away and his mind jumped into consciousness. He sat up with a bolt and looked around him, ready for a fight. Instead he was met with an old, poorly kept room and two strangers staring at him.

"Who are you?" he snarled, hands reaching for anything he could use as a weapon, but the place had obviously been looted over the years, and there wasn't much to be found. If looks could kill, his piercing eyes would have them both dead twice over.

"If anyone should be asking that question, it's us," Sakura snorted. "You're the one who fainted in my arms." Naruto sniggered half way through stuffing an old shirt in a bag, and Sakura nudged his side in reprimand. "Here," She tossed the last third of the bread to the stranger who caught it deftly. "You look like you need it." She only just resisted pestering him for a thank you, but the sharp look in her eyes got the message across.

The dark-haired man stared down at the bread then back up at the pink-haired woman—so he hadn't been hallucinating—who was looking at him expectantly. "Thank you," he grit out before tearing into the bread with his teeth. He still didn't trust her, but he was famished and wouldn't turn away the food.

"Sakura," the pink-haired woman pointed to herself then back to the blond, "and Naruto. You're welcome."

"What's your name?" Naruto questioned, abandoning his packing to come closer to the mysterious man. The mysterious man who proceeded to ignore the question and glance around the room instead. Again, childish laughter and footsteps rang in the back of his mind.

"Hey!" Naruto barked, glaring at the man. "The we fed you and gave you shelter, the least you could do is tell us who you are and what happened to you!"

The man returned Naruto's glare and intentionally stuffed the rest of the bread in his mouth, taking his time eating it, before he finally gave his answer. "Hiei. I'm called Hiei." He glanced between the Naruto and Sakura who had returned to her hurried packing. "And I've been running from Oto shinobi for the past week. They've been chasing me non-stop." Every town he'd stopped in, arrests were being made, for what, he didn't care enough to stay and find out. He'd been unlucky enough to be spotted by an especially persistent soldier.

Green and blue eyes met briefly before Sakura turned to address Hiei fully. "My coat, if you please." She pointed, and Hiei looked down to find a long brown coat bunched up beneath him.

"Hey, Sakura. Don't you think he looks like the prince?" Naruto whispered, hand to her ear while Hiei handed over the piece of clothing. She glanced at the picture of the Royal family on the wall behind Hiei. She couldn't deny that there was a resemblance, but she couldn't think about that now.

"Just leave it Naruto. It's just a rumor." And yet, it was a rumor that could get all of them killed if they were found. It didn't take a genius to guess that Hiei was being hunted for that very resemblance as were many unfortunate citizens of the new regime.

"But Sakur-"

"Look, Hiei," Sakura interrupted the blond, "The two of us are getting out of here. You can come with us, or you can go your own way, but I'd advise you not to stay here either way."

"Why would I go with you?" Hiei scoffed. "A large group of us would just attract more attention. Neither of you look like you'd blend into a crowd well."

"Fair enough," Sakura shrugged. She couldn't fault him for his logic. "We'll let you see yourself out." She grabbed Naruto's bag and pushed it into his hands. "Let's go," she gave the blond a stern look when his blue eyes trailed back to the portrait.

Hiei watched them leave before pulling his coat tighter around him and turning to look at the portrait that had transfixed the blond so much. He was met with multiple ebony gazes staring down at him. It seemed to be a likeness of both the royal family and the extended family. Every single person in the frame had raven hair and pale skin. It wasn't a combination that was entirely uncommon, after all he had similar features, but it was the eyes that paralyzed him and held him in his place. There was something…familiar…warm about them.

The roaring of the fire in the hearth suddenly sounded much louder in his ears. It's heat against his skin was no longer comforting, but scalding. The laughter that had been ringing in his ears morphed into screams, and he was frozen to his spot as the eyes bore into him.

He could have been standing there for seconds or minutes, he didn't know. A loud thud rang throughout the palace and jolted him back to the present. Soldiers' stomps echoed down the hallway as voices approached.

"We've got intel that some girl was seen dragging him through here. Check every room. We'll get him this time. He can't run forever."

Hiei grit his teeth. Yakushi Kabuto. The man had been chasing him throughout the all fire country since he'd been found passing through a small village by the border. Hiei didn't know what the Oto shinobi wanted with him, but he knew better than to be caught. He would not be one of the many that had been made to disappear.

…

"Should we really have left him there all alone? I mean if it was bad for us to be caught there, imagine if someone found him there, looking like he does." It had been thirty minutes since the two had abandoned the palace, and Naruto's thoughts were still with the stranger. Sakura wouldn't deny that hers were too, but she knew she had to be the responsible one between the two of them. She had to be the one to get them out of the country before they were stuck there forever.

"I don't know what else you expected me to do. It was his decision, and he was right. We're more likely to get into trouble together, especially if he really does have someone on his tail," Sakura murmured as they made their way to the black market. Konoha—or rather the newly named Otogakure—had been their home for a long time, but enough was enough. It was almost impossible to keep themselves fed, and with citizens getting attacked, there was no safe option but to leave the place. Of course getting out was easier said than done. Borders had already begun to close. "We have to look out for each other, first and foremost." Her voice wasn't without remorse. Life had toughened her and made her a realist, but that didn't mean she didn't wish there was something she could have done to help the stranger.

"But you've gotta admit there's a resemblance," Naruto persisted in a low voice so as not to be overheard. He may be naturally loud, but even he knew better than to be caught talking about treason in public. "What if Hiei is… _him?_ What if his brother is really waiting for him in Tsukigakure?" Growing up on the streets as an orphan, Naruto had always dreamed of what it might be like to be reunited with his family. Even if the opportunity wasn't possible for him, he felt compelled to help anyone else presented with the same opportunity.

"Then he's probably already been caught and taken in," Sakura frowned, trying not to think too hard about it. She tried not to feel guilty for leaving him there against her better judgement, and she tried to ignore the inkling of a feeling that she'd seen Hiei somewhere before. "You know the soldiers weren't far behind us, and you know what kind of shape he was in when I found him. It would have taken a miracle for him to get away. Now stop thinking about it and help me track down some exit visas. We can't stay here." She offered him a grim smile.

"But what if he did get away? He could have a family waiting for him. Don't you believe in happy endings?"

"Once upon a time I did. Then I grew up." Sakura felt bad for putting Naruto down. He really did seem excited about the prospect, but he couldn't go believing that every dark-haired, pale boy was the lost prince.

"I bet his brother would pay a pretty penny to have him back," Naruto tried a different tactic, "We'd never have to scrounge for food 'd never have to be cold again."He could see that he'd captured Sakura's attention. "And I've heard Tsukigakure is like a paradise compared to this place. Imagine the beaches. Imagine being warm."

She bit the edge of her lip in thought for a moment then shook her head to rid herself of the paradise she had already begun to imagine. "It's too late. Even if we did go back, he's probably long gone. Try not to think about it, okay?" She patted his shoulder before starting off to hunt down visas. "Now get looking. I'll meet you back here."

She walked away from her friend and was soon distracted by shouts from people peddling their wares. They tried to entice her with fur coats and royal antiques left behind during the siege, but she was single minded in her search.

She had to have only been away from Naruto for ten minutes when she heard the commotion. Screams rang out, and in the blink of an eye, people had begun to grab their products and run. Sakura cursed under her breath. First they'd been run out of their shelter, and now they could be caught buying from the black market. It was just their lucky day. Quickly, she pulled up her hood to hide her recognizable hair, and began to weave through the masses. Screw exit visas, they'd get out of that damned country any way possible.


	2. Let Me Say Goodbye

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of characters. I am making no profit off of this and am only writing it for my entertainment. The same goes for the story Anastasia.

A/N: Reminder for those just tuning in, Hiei = Sasuke's alias. This is probably going to be the most action packed chapter until more towards the end. We'll see. I have plans. I was foolishly hoping that I'd have this entire AU finished by the end of SasuSaku Month, but that was ambitious and will not be happening because this fic just keeps growing. That being said, I think this chapter would fit nicely under the Lean on Me prompt.

Unbeta-ed.

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Hiei darted through the palace with Kabuto and his lackeys hot on his heels. Portraits and finery sped by him in blurs. Haunting screams fled his mind as every ounce of his being began to focus on escaping. _You have to survive._ Words that followed him throughout his entire life and urged him on when there was no hope to be had, rang in his head. He was sure he'd never stepped foot in the palace before that day. He should be at a loss for where to go, but every turn he took, every hallway he ran down, managed to put more distance between himself and his pursuers. His feet knew where to take him without hesitation.

Perhaps he should have found it odd that even when he'd turned into an old children's bedroom, he didn't panic. Deftly, he picked up a lamp and used the heavy base to smash the window open. A few more hits and the sharp pieces of broken glass clattered to the ground, leaving an opening large enough for him to escape through, but the footsteps were upon the room, and the noise of shattering glass left no question as to where he was.

"I have to give you credit," Kabuto hummed in that irritatingly calm voice of his. If anything, he sounded amused by the chase. "You've lasted longer than most." He turned the corner to find an empty room. It was no matter. With a wave of his hand, he sent two guards to the window to retrieve the dark haired man. He certainly couldn't have gotten far. Not at this height with the short amount of time he'd had to climb out. The game was over.

"Uh, Sir…" One of the guards, a young woman with dark hair who was fairly new to the position if Kabuto recalled correctly, turned back to him, "You might want to take a look at this." The grey haired man spared her a condescending look and walked over to the window. There was no sign of the man on either side of the window or above. The side of the building didn't provide many places for someone to grab ahold of. He glanced down, expecting to see Hiei's dead or injured body sprawled out in the snow beneath them. With the palace's high ceilings, it was a sharp drop even from the second floor. Instead, all he found was a broken lamp and absolutely no signs of anyone falling with it. The snow around it was still crisp and clean. There were no tracks to be had.

Kabuto grit his teeth and turned his back to the window. This street rat was beginning to be more trouble than he was worth. Personally, Kabuto found it a little extreme to hunt down every poor sap with the same features as the dead princes, but the public was looking for any excuse to rise up again, and he had his orders. "Spread out and find him. He can't have gotten far. I don't care if you bring him to me dead or alive, just bring him to me."

It wasn't much longer until the footsteps of the shinobi exiting the room faded away, but Hiei remained frozen, his back pressed against the hidden servants' entrance to the door blended perfectly into the wall of the room. He didn't know why, but somehow, he'd known exactly where to press to find it. It was the only thing that kept him from being caught. He wasn't safe yet, though. Not by a long shot.

He followed the hidden corridor with his hand pressed to the wall to help guide him through the darkness until it brought him to an exit at the side of the palace. Pushing the door open a crack, Hiei held his breath and listened. His dark eyes scanned what little of the courtyard he could see. There was no cover. Even if there were no signs of Oto shinobi at the moment, he'd still have to be fast. He'd always been slippery—it was how he'd survived so long—but this was more than pressing his luck. If he tried to wait them out, it would only be a matter of time until they found him through sheer luck, but if he risked it…

No.

There was no question. He had to risk it. Staying in one place was how people got caught. It was how people died, and he refused to be one of those people. Going out the front gate was a fool's errand, that much was sure. He'd have to sneak along the wall and try to leave over the fence at the side.

By some stroke of luck, he'd managed to not only get over the fence, but to the marketplace before he found himself running again. Dogs barked as soldiers yelled for him to halt. It took all he had not to roll his eyes. Of course Kabuto would enlist the help of dogs to sniff him out. The man was only becoming more determined to catch him.

He quickly switched direction and headed for the most crowded part of the plaza in hopes that it would confuse the dogs. Though the soldiers lost him amongst the crowd, the dogs held his scent. Hiei cursed the ever fickle Lady Luck and slid down the nearest alleyway he could find. Without breaking his stride, he picked a hat up off a table it was being sold off of and plopped it on his head. It wouldn't fool the dogs' noses, but he'd take whatever help he could get disguising himself from the soldier's eyes.

Shouts of indignation rang out around him as he purposely spilled people's wares or kicked their tables into the streets. He had to buy himself time. He didn't care who he was inconveniencing. He cared more about saving his own skin than how annoying people would find it to pick up after him.

He didn't have a destination in mind. He just wanted to get away, and that was the only thing he was thinking when he felt himself being yanked backwards and into an alleyway by the tails of his coat. He didn't wait to ask questions. As soon as he regained his balance, he spun around and lashed out with his fist, hitting his assailant right in the chest.

"Oof!" She stumbled backwards from the force and fell back into the snow, her hood falling back to reveal pink hair and burning green eyes. "I'm trying to help you and that's the thanks I get?" She rubbed her chest. Her mouth set in an irritated frown.

"What did you expect to happen when you pull a guy on the run into an alleyway?" Hiei scoffed, "Besides, I didn't ask for your help." Sounds of dogs barking drew closer. He glanced over his shoulder and could just barely make out the heads of soldiers weaving through the crowd. By the time he looked back at Sakura, she was already on her feet.

"Looks like you do need the help after all." She turned on her heel with what he could have sworn was a self-satisfied smile, and headed towards the wall at the end of the alleyway.

"Not from choice," he scowled and followed after her, raising a brow as she bent down and cupped her hands to make a step. "And I find most don't offer it unless they're getting something out of it."

She matched his scowl with one of her own. "Look, I saw you running and thought you might need help. You're not going to escape those dogs on foot. Now do you want help or not?"

His eyes drifted from her cupped hands to the tall wall she was offering to help him over. The shouts and barks were getting closer. It was obvious to Sakura that he really didn't want her help, but the given circumstances weren't giving him much of a choice in the matter. With a positively _annoyed_ sounding sigh, he took a running start and jumped up to the top of the wall using her cupped hands for leverage.

Sakura stood and brushed the snow off her knees, ready to face whatever would become of her when the guards found her and an empty alleyway. A throat cleared impatiently above her, and she looked back to see Hiei still on top of the wall, his hand outstretched to her. Hurriedly, she placed her hand in his and felt herself being lifted up and over the wall. Seconds after her feet hit the snow, he dropped down beside her. They spared each other one glance before they took off running again.

"I don't know how much time that bought you. I'm meeting Naruto at the train station. Keep up, and you can come with us." She knew Naruto would be happy to see the stranger again. Admittedly, she was glad to see that he was alive, but she wouldn't force him to come with her.

"Do you have tickets?" Hiei followed closely behind Sakura as she took the lead. Every now and then, his eyes would dart around, looking for any sign that they were being followed.

The silence he got in return was all the answer he needed. Admittedly, Sakura didn't know if they had tickets, and if they did, there wouldn't be a third. She'd only seen Naruto across the market place long enough to direct him to meet her at the tracks. It would be easier to get there separately with all the commotion. When she'd left him, it was under the assumption he'd try to acquire passage for them, but the unspoken decision was just to get out of there in whatever way they could.

"Look, do you want to stay here, or get out of here? Because if you want to stay and wait for a ticket to fall into your lap, then do me a favor and take a different street."

Hiei was silent, but his pace alongside her didn't waver. Out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw another annoying smile on Sakura's lips.

"That's what I thought." Hiei cut Sakura a sideways glance at her words. This woman really enjoyed pushing her luck.

A train whistle sounded as the tracks came into view. In the distance, the two could see Naruto's blond hair stand out starkly against the weathered side of a train's baggage car. He waved wildly at them and pointed to his bare wrist to tell them to hurry up before hopping up into the already loaded train car. The second he turned back to look at them, his face drained of all color.

By the time the blond had yelled out words of warning, Hiei had already pushed Sakura forward, away from the butt of the rifle that came down harshly across his back. He grunted in pain as the force brought him to his knees and mentally berated himself for not noticing the soldier gaining on them.

He turned to face his attacker only to come face to face with the barrel of a gun. His entire body froze against his will. The rushing of blood in his veins mixed with the sounds of a train's wheels roaring along the track approaching them and the whizzing of the train Naruto was on gearing up to be on it's way. All he could see was the gun before him. Flashes of a dark night sky lit red with flames crossed his vision.

Sakura stumbled, but caught herself before she fell. She glanced up at Naruto and shook her head when he looked ready to run towards them. The headlight of the approaching train grew nearer. If they didn't cross the tracks soon, they'd be cut off from their escape. She turned back to yell at Hiei to hurry up only to find him frozen in place with a soldier standing over him, gun poised.

She didn't even need to glance back at the train before she made her decision and placed herself between Hiei and the gun. The rifle sounded into the air. Sakura felt the heat from the barrel through her gloves, but before the soldier had a chance to fire again, she ripped the gun from his hands and brought the barrel down on his head as hard as she could. Before the man even hit the ground, she was fiddling with the gun's chamber and dumping bullets onto the ground.

The train's whistle sounded closer. She could already feel the ground begin to vibrate under it's speed. Tossing the rifle as far away as possible, she spun on her heel and pulled a still stunned Hiei to his feet. She didn't know what happened to him in his past to make him so afraid of guns. This was the second time she'd found him frozen because of it, but she didn't have time to baby him. They had to make that train.

"Come on! You owe me!" she shouted over the sound of it's wheels on the tracks and pushed the dark haired man forward in front of her until he was running too.

"Come on guys! Hurry up!" Naruto called to them. The train beneath him started to lurch forwards slowly.

By now the light from the oncoming train was shinning fully on them. "Go! Go! Go!" She kept Hiei in front of her. It would be close. The ground beneath them was shaking fully now. The only options were to risk crossing the track and getting crushed or giving up and being caught by the soldiers. One outcome would be a lot less pleasant, and it wasn't the one that involved possibly being run over.

Hiei, finally recovered, was fully across the tracks now and running to catch the train Naruto was on. Sakura only just managed to cleared them in time and could feel the wind on her back as the oncoming train sped past her. Her hair whipped in her face, but she couldn't afford the time it would take to catch her breath or still her rapidly beating heart. Their train was slowly gaining speed, and Hiei's long strides had put him well ahead of her.

Her legs burned as she put on extra speed. She could still hear Naruto calling for her to hurry up. In front of her, the tails of Hiei's coattails disappeared as he swung up into the train car. Every ounce of her was now focused on catching that train, even as its speed began to pull ahead. Suddenly a hand was out in front of her face. She reached out and grasped the forearm, just as the larger hand wrapped around hers and heaved her into the car.

Naruto, who's arms had been wrapped around Hiei to hold him in place, fell backwards from the momentum, and as soon as Sakura's feet landed safely inside the car, she allowed herself to collapse and catch her breath. Her heart was beating so hard, it felt like it was trying to escape her chest. Though he'd been knocked back as he pulled her into the car, Hiei somehow remained standing. Sakura didn't have time to say anything before her newly regained breath was knocked out of her by the loud blond throwing himself at her.

"You're okay! I was so worried!" Naruto clung to her tightly, and she returned the hug with great ferocity though her eyes never left Hiei's figure.

"We're even again," he said simply before sitting with his back to the wall.

Sakura nodded in thanks before turning her focus back to the blond in her arms. "We…we made it. We're on our way out." Though her breath hadn't fully caught up with her, she found a hysterical giggle working it's way to her throat. "We're on our way out."

Naruto pulled back to look at her cautiously only to find tears streaming down her cheeks. "H-hey, Sakura. Are you okay?" He asked tentatively only to be met with a wide smile.

"I'm just happy," she grinned at her friend. "I-I guess I just didn't think we'd make it for a minute there." Naruto offered his friend the widest grin she'd seen from him in a long time, and tackled her with another hug.

"Stop crying or you're going to make me all teary too," he teased to mask his soft sniffle as the two turned to watch the city disappearing through the still open door. "You think you'll miss it at all?"

"It's all I've known…I think I'll always miss it a little," Sakura wiped the tears from her cheeks and leaned into Naruto's side as she watched the distance grow between herself and the city she'd been born in. "I hate what it's become, but…it wasn't so bad before…everything."

"Yeah, I've even got some good memories," Naruto chuckled. "There was this little ramen stand my dad used to take me to, Ichiraku. Man, I loved that place. I'd make him take me every week. Twice a week if I could. The old man that ran it knew me so well that sometimes he'd treat me with two eggs." His expression fell, "It's gone now though. Been gone ever since Orochimaru took over."

"I remember," Sakura jumped in, "When I was eight and the royal family was still alive, how people would swarm the streets whenever they were passing through. It was always a grand procession, and I was always so small, I could never see anything. One day though, I was determined. I let go of my mom's hand and wiggled my way through the crowd to the front." A dreamy, nostalgic smile graced Sakura's lips. "It was so hot that summer and people smelled awful, but I was determined. Somehow I got through, and I saw them all. The Empress was gorgeous. They were all beautiful, but Prince Sasuke…I remember calling out his name on a whim, and he turned and smiled at me. I was in paradise for hours after they'd disappeared."

Sakura was pulled by her reverie by an unimpressed snort, and both she and Naruto spun to look at Hiei. "Oh, so what? You won't miss it at all?" she challenged.

"Why would I miss it? I grew up wandering the country as an orphan," Hiei crossed his arms and refused to join them in watching the city grow smaller in the distance.

"We all grew up orphans. A lot of people lost their family in the uprising. You aren't special," Naruto snorted. Blue eyes glared at the dark-haired man.

"You must have some good memories of the place. Something before the new regime?" Sakura put a placating hand on Naruto's arm to keep him from lunging at the other man. He'd always been touchy about his now deceased family.

"Not a single one." Hiei raised his gaze to stare them down. "My memories start after the new regime."

"What?" Sakura and Naruto's questions echoed each other and Hiei rolled his eyes.

"I have no memories before I was ten. All I remember was waking up in a hospital unable to recall anything. They gave me my name, a hat to keep my head warm, and sent me on my way. All they told me was that they'd found me passed out on the side of a road. So no. I don't particularly have any good memories of this damned country." He'd decided to keep the dark flashes of what he sometimes thought were memories asserting themselves to himself. If he told the pair that he sometimes thought he heard screams or children's laughter or dreamed of fire, they'd only think he was crazy.

At this new news, Sakura and Naruto slid each other sly grins. "So you don't remember anything until the very end of the revolution?" Naruto inched closer, coming to sit on Hiei's right while Sakura moved to the left.

"That's what I just said, isn't it? Pay attention," Hiei gave an annoyed huff.

Immediately, Naruto's eyes narrowed into another glare. "Hey no need to be rude about it!"

"Hiei," Sakura quickly moved to get the man's attention before he and Naruto started a glaring contest. "Naruto and I were talking earlier, and we thought you looked an awful lot like the young Prince. Clearly Orochimaru does too if his people are putting so much work into…dispensing of you," she said delicately.

"Hmph, he's not the Prince. The Prince would never be such an ass," Naruto muttered only to avert his gaze when Sakura shot him a look.

"It was your idea, Naruto."

"Yeah, well I changed my mind!"

"Would you two just get to the point? Hiei's voice cut through their bickering. His entire being was rigid.

"Look, I just thought if it was true, and seeing as we can go anywhere we want now, we'd offer to take to to meet your brother in Tsukigakure, but you clearly don't remember anything except how to be an ass, and if I'm being honest, your brother probably doesn't even want you because of it." The blond crossed his arms defiantly only to be taken down a couple of pegs by a look from Sakura mere seconds after the words had left his mouth.

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice was full of disappointment, and he immediately knew he'd crossed a line.

"Sorry…" he mumbled, looking properly told off.

Sakura turned back to Hiei. "We were just wondering. If the rumors about the Crown Prince and young Prince surviving were just rumors, we didn't think Orochimaru would go to so much trouble."

"And you thought there was nothing wrong with getting on the good side of a pair of princes, so you're utterly disappointed now that you know I'm not him, right?" Hiei asked with an arched brow.

"Just because you don't remember your past doesn't mean you couldn't be him. If anything, your lapse of memory lines up perfectly with when the young Prince went missing. You don't know who you are. Maybe you're him. You can't know unless you ask, and the only one who would be able to answer that question would be the Crown Prince, right?" Sakura deftly avoided answering his question despite the fact that she was very much hoping she'd get something out of the situation. Why should she and Naruto start their new lives with nothing when they could land in the favor of a Crown Prince?

Hiei closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall of the train car. "You're both crazy. It's been years. Even if by some miracle, you were right, who's to say he would recognize me. With no memory, you have no way to prove I'm who you say I am."

"Um, actually," Naruto rummaged through his bag for something. "We might." He pulled out a small tanto sheathed in a scabbard designed to look like a closed fan. Despite looking worn, it was obviously made by a master craftsman. The section designed to look like the leaf of the fan had retained it's deep red color over the years while the base of the part designed to look like the guard was a dark ebony decorated with delicately etched tomoe resembling licks of flame. If Naruto hadn't unsheathed it to show them, Sakura would have believed it was just a fancy fan.

"Naruto…where did you get that?" Sakura asked as the blonde passed the tanto over to Hiei.

"Well," Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I might have grabbed it while we were in the market today. It was just so pretty, ya know?"

Hiei tuned out the pair's babbling while he examined the weapon. Something in him felt drawn to it. It was a miracle it was still in such good shape after all these years. Even the chord at the end used to tie the weapon to a belt had survived. Gingerly, he drew the blade and thumbed the edge. Someone, maybe the shopkeeper, had kept it in good condition. It was still sharp without a spot of rust. Towards the bottom of the blade near the hilt, was a small Uchiha insignia. His hand tightened around the grip and he re-sheathed the blade.

"Okay." His voice cut through Sakura and Naruto's discussion.

"Okay?" Sakura repeated, looking at him in confusion.

"Okay. I'll do it." He clarified as he tied the blade to his belt beneath his jacket. "I'll go with you to see the Crown Prince."

"Really?" a grin spread over Sakura's face while Naruto fist pumped the air.

"Yes! Land of the Moon here we come!" the energetic blonde cheered. "I've heard it's a beachy paradise!"

While Naruto raved to Sakura about all the things he wanted to do when they got there, Hiei allowed himself a small, hidden smile as he gripped the tanto under his coat. He didn't know if he believed that he was this missing prince, but he had to admit, even if it was only to himself, he was a little excited by the prospect of finding out who he really was. He'd wondered so long. Maybe these two strangers would be the ticket to his answer.

* * *

A/N: If you're interested, the tanto in this chapter is based off a real thing called a shikomi sensu, and it will be taking the place of the music box in this story. If you want to google it to see what a typical one looks like, you can just as easily find it by searching fan tanto.

Something I love about Sakura meeting Sasuke later in her life once she's come into herself is that I think she's much less likely to put up with his angsty loner self, and more open to challenging him. Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Home, Love, Family

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of characters. I am making no profit off of this and am only writing it for my entertainment. The same goes for the story Anastasia.

A/N: This chapter has minor character deaths aka the equivalent of the Uchiha massacre in this universe. This chapter was giving me some problems, but it's finally done and ready to be shared with you lovely people!

Unbeta-ed.

* * *

Sasuke was pulled from his peaceful slumber by the hurried shaking of his shoulder. His eyes felt heavy with sleep, and he knew it must be much too early to be morning already. He yawned and cracked his eyes open to see the concerned face of his brother staring down at him. "Itachi?" he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What are you doing here?" He glanced out his bedroom window and accidentally caught sight of the night sky blazing an orange-red and filled with smoke.

"Sasuke," Itachi's voice was quiet but strained. Confused, Sasuke turned away from the window only to find a small mound of clothes pushed in his face. They were much drabber than anything he'd ever worn. In fact, they looked like they belonged to a servant rather than a prince, but before he could question his older brother, Itachi shook his head. "Hurry, we need to be quick and quiet. Do you trust me?"

Sasuke nodded mutely and quickly pulled on the clothes and heavy coat. "Are we going somewhere?" He stood from the bed and stole another glance out the window. From his new vantage point, the ten year old could see a mob flooding through the front gates with torches and weapons in hand. Fear seized him. Suddenly he could hear the distant shouts and yells that he had been ignorant to only moments ago. After what seemed like only seconds later, a loud, repetitive _thud_ echoed throughout the palace. Sasuke's head whipped back to look at his brother who was dressed in servant's clothes as well. Suddenly Itachi's serious expression made much more sense.

"M-mom? Dad?"

"They're fine." The words _for now_ lingered unsaid, but fully understood.

The beating of Sasuke's heart in his chest felt much more prominent and there was a strange ringing in his ears. "Wha-what's going on, Itachi?" He slapped his hands to his cheeks and squeezed his eyes shut. This had to be a dream. A nightmare. That was it. That had to be it. He hadn't really woken up.

By now, he could hear the chaos in the hallways as people ran about. The doorknob to his room jiggled but didn't open. Itachi must have locked it behind him to give them more time, but more time for what?

"Sasuke." The young boy felt Itachi's hands encircle his wrists and gently force them away from his face. "Look at me." The boy slowly opened his eyes expecting a different outcome, but everything was as it had been when he'd shut them. "We need to leave here, and we can't be found. Do you understand me?"

The thudding crescendoed into a loud _bang_ and ceased. That was when the screams began. The sounds of gunshots filled the air. Sasuke tried his hardest to be strong, but he couldn't stop the way his hands shook in his brother's hold. He swallowed and nodded, trying to put on a brave face for his older brother.

Itachi's eyes softened as he took in his frightened brother and released his hold, only to reach into his coat and pull out a folded fan. Sasuke's eyes widened when Itachi tugged on the end of the fan to reveal a tanto. The next thing he knew, the weapon was in his trembling hands and Itachi's were resting reassuringly on his shoulders. "I won't let anything happen to you. Now we need to go."

The sounds of glass breaking and more screams rang out nearby. The mob had made their way to the second floor, and the sounds of gunshots and metal clashing came in waves. The door rattled again, this time harder. The thuds that had been far away before were now right outside the door. Without a word, Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him to the servants' door that blended perfectly into the wall.

His brother pushed him into the corridor first then quickly shut the door behind the two of them them seconds before Sasuke's bedroom doors were bust open and footsteps and shouts filled the room. Itachi didn't wait. As soon as they were in the passageway, he was dragging Sasuke along it. Sasuke didn't know if his brother had ever been through there before, but he seemed to know where he was going. He gripped the tanto tightly in his hand and ran along, doing his best to move quickly and keep up with his older brother's longer strides.

Though they were hidden from anyone in the main hallways, they could still hear everything that happened as they passed by. At one point, heat and smoke spilled into their corridor and the boys had to cover their mouths and noses with their sleeves. The entire time, the sounds of their family, their servants, their friends' screams and the sound of gunfire seemed endless.

After what felt like an eternity, the corridor ended with a door. Cold seeped around the edges, and they knew it led to the outside. Itachi held up a hand to stop Sasuke and eased the door open just a crack so he could peek out. The snow laden courtyard was covered in tracks. Though not nearly as crowded as it had been before, there were still men standing guard, but they didn't look to be friendly. Rather than the Konoha insignia, their uniforms bore a musical note to identify them as Otogakure shinobi.

Itachi turned back to his brother and held a finger to his mouth before taking his hand. Carefully, they slid out the door and around the corner of the palace, moving as quickly and inconspicuously as they could. Then a scream rang out from the second story that stopped Sasuke's blood cold in his veins. "Th-that sounded like…Mom…" Before he could even finish the thought, the scream was cut off sharply by a loud shot. It was a sound that would ring in Sasuke's ears for years to come. His knees felt weak. Just as they were about to give out, Itachi pulled him forwards.

He couldn't see his brother's eyes, but his shoulders were tensed. A few seconds later, another shot rang out, and another sinking feeling spread through the two boys. Somehow, they both knew their father was no more.

Wordlessly, they made their way to the gate. Every step felt heavier, every breath of cold air harder to take in. Itachi lifted his brother up and over the wrought iron fence before following suit. There was no time to mourn. First they had to survive.

Beyond the gate, the entire city was in a frenzy, and there was no one they could trust. Sasuke clung to his older brother's hand and stayed close to his side as they slipped through the shadows. His lip quivered every time he thought back to that scream and the gunshots that followed, but he pushed the feeling down. He didn't want to cry. He'd only draw attention to them.

"Itachi…" Sasuke's voice was more than quiet. It was small. His eyes were on his feet as he focused on placing one foot in front of the other. "Will you tell me where we're going now?" They'd made it to the road leaving Konoha, and he finally felt brave enough to speak again.

"We're going to follow this road to the next town and take the train to Tsukigakure. We'd risk being caught if we tried to leave on a train from Konoha…especially tonight." A darkness passed over Itachi's expression, but the teen kept speaking, keeping himself busy by caring for his brother. "Tsukigakure is known for staying out of wars and taking in refugees. We're bound to meet other Konoha nobles when we arrive. We'll find help there."

Sasuke nodded, and not knowing what to else to say into the heavy night, the boys fell quiet again. As day began to break, the barren roads came alive again, and the remaining two Uchiha took to the woods to avoid running into anyone. When Sasuke's feet began to drag and his eyes began to grow heavy, Itachi wordlessly lifted the boy onto his back and kept walking until he heard the sounds of an approaching truck a long ways away from the main road.

Careful not to wake a sleeping Sasuke, he ducked behind a large tree and held Sasuke close. The sounds of the truck slowed to a stop, and the exhaust cut off. In the silence of the woods, Itachi could hear every move, and every sound filled him with fear. He heard the door opening, much too close to their hiding spot. He heard the crunch of snow beneath boots as several men exited the vehicle.

"Here's good enough," a man spoke. The clank of something metallic scraping across the bed of a truck filled the quiet woods. "You three get to digging. These bodies aren't going to bury themselves."

The sound of snow being shoveled began, but Itachi's mind reeled from the man's words. His only solace was that Sasuke hadn't been awake to hear it. He peeked around the tree trunk and watched as men in Otogakure uniforms, men who had helped lead the attack on the palace, on his family, worked swiftly while three others stood over them. Once a large trench was dug in the ground, the one who looked to be in charge nodded towards the truck.

It was a sight Itachi would never be able to un-see. A small gasp horror came from his arms, and his eyes were drawn from the brutally beaten, shot through bodies of his parents and two young servants to his young brother whose innocence had forever been stolen from him.

The small sound was enough to make all the soldiers pause in their work for a moment. It was the man in charge who recovered first. Immediately, he began barking out orders to find the source of the noise. "Spread out and look around. If you find anyone, deal with them. Permanently. No one can know what happened here. Lord Orochimaru's orders. Now get back to work." The reminder was threat enough. Lord Orochimaru did not deal with insubordination lightly.

Itachi could hear the movement resume, and he knew it was only a matter of time until they were found. He turned Sasuke to face him, and looked his brother in the eyes. "Saskue," his voice was low and urgent. "Listen to me. _You have to survive._ Get to Tsukigakure. I'll meet you there."

Sasuke frowned in confusion at the sad smile on his brother's face. "Itachi-"

"Forgive me, Sasuke." Itachi's fingers tapped against his brother's head lightly, and Sasuke closed his eyes in surprise. By the time he reopened them, all he saw was Itachi's back as the elder boy ran through the woods in pain sight of the soldiers searching for them.

"Hey you!"

"Stop!"

Shouts filled the woods. Sasuke had to bite his tongue to keep himself from calling out for his brother.

"Go after him. I'll finish things here," the lead soldier growled at the remaining shinobi with him. Sasuke could hear more footsteps as they ran off accompanied by the sound of liquid being poured over the bodies in the ditch, followed by the striking of a match. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his hands over his ears, but he could still hear everything. The footsteps of the man as he walked back to the truck. The starting of the engine and the hum as it drove away. The shouts and gunshots in the distance. And the sounds of flames licking the air.

What was worse though was the smell. He'd never smelt smoke so foul. He tried everything in his power to avoid imagining his parents burning. For the first time that night, tears fell freely from his eyes. He couldn't be strong anymore. He wanted his mother and father. He wanted his brother. He wanted to go home. He wanted everyone to be alive.

Almost unaware of his movement, he stood and began to run. He didn't have a destination in mind. He didn't feel the cold, or the burn of the muscles in his legs as he pushed himself faster. He didn't feel the sting of cold tears drying on his skin only to be replaced by fresh tracks. He didn't even feel like he was in his own body. He just wanted to escape. He wanted to escape everything.

He ran until he could no longer hear shouts in the distance. He ran until he couldn't smell the sickening smoke or see the fire dancing behind his eyelids. He ran until his legs gave out on him, and then he was falling. His momentum threw his body forward down a snowy hill. The tanto he'd been holding so tightly to slipped from his grasp somewhere along the way. When he finally came to a stop, it was with a jolt that shook his entire body. The back of his head throbbed, but he couldn't find it in him to care. He couldn't find it in him to move.

He was so tired. His body wanted desperately to rest just as he desperately wanted to wake from this nightmare. In the distance, he could vaguely hear the engine of a car as it came closer. He knew he should move, and yet his eyelids drooped closer together. The car slowed to a stop near him. He tried to get up. He really did, but somehow, he could only manage a twitch of the leg. A door open and shut.

Would this be the end of him?

Footsteps approached, but before they could reach him, his entire world went black.

…

The train lurched along the track and Hiei jolted awake. He could still feel dried tear tracks on his cheeks.

At some point during the night, the three of them had all huddled together to keep warm with Sakura in the middle to keep the boys from glaring at each other and picking fights. While Hiei's side just barely brushed against the pink-haired woman's, Naruto was fully leaning into her with his head on her shoulder. The blonde was snoring away not so quietly, but one glance to the side showed him that Sakura was awake and had been for a while.

They'd long since closed the sliding door, and there was barely any light to see by, but he could tell by how straight her posture was that she was anything but relaxed enough to catch some shut eye.

"Have you slept at all?" his voice came quietly through the darkness, but she tensed, surprised to find Hiei awake. Slowly, she let herself relax back to the state she'd been in before and shrugged. "A little bit a couple hours ago. It's fine. We won't cross the boarder for at least another day or so," she brushed off his concern. "You haven't been asleep long either. You should try to get some more rest."

"I'm not tired." He answered a millisecond too quickly for it to be the complete truth. Though his nightmare had quickly fled his mind, and he could barely catch flashes of what had occurred in it, he still felt unsettled. If Sakura noticed, she did him the curtesy of not saying anything.

For several minutes, a silence settled over them while Hiei tried to remember his dream. Like always, the only things he could catch were flashes of fire and echoes of screams.

"Tell me something," he broke the silence, searching for anything to chase the remnants of the dream away.

"Hmm?" Sakura turned her head towards him just enough to let him know he had her attention. "What is it?"

"You mentioned your mother earlier…but you said you were an orphan too. What happened?"

Sakura's eyes saddened, and there was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Hiei added quickly, but Sakura shook her head.

"No. It's okay. After-after Orochimaru took control, food was scarce, and that winter was pretty bad. A sickness swept our part of the city. They were already giving me a portion of their food so I'd have enough to grow. They weren't as strong as they should have been, and," her words faltered at the memory despite her attempt to sound as detached as Hiei had when he'd recounted his short history to Naruto and herself. It didn't work. She could already feel her eyes watering. "The sickness took them. I was on my own for a couple of years, then I found Naruto, and we've been looking out for each other ever since. He's kind of the only family I've got now."

"Hm," Hiei murmured, unsure of what to say. The normal thing to do would be to give his condolences, but it had been so long ago, and it wouldn't do her or her parents any good. "What's it like?" he spoke after another bout of silence. "Having a family?" As he asked the question, he stared at the wall opposite him, almost embarrassed to be caught asking the question.

This time, Sakura's head turned fully to look at him, shock clear in her eyes. She'd known he was an orphan. She'd known he had no memory of his family, but somehow, it hadn't sunk in that he didn't know what having one was like until that very moment. "It's…well, it's…" she sputtered for a moment, trying to find a way to put the feeling into words. "It's feeling…safe. It's knowing someone's always looking out for you no matter what. It's a familiar, warm feeling in your gut, and knowing you'd do whatever you could to take care of your family, and see them happy." She spared a soft smile for the blond sleeping on her shoulder who had somehow become like a brother to her over their time together. "It's unlike anything else."

Hiei couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. He wished he could remember such a feeling. His life had taught him that the idea of feeling safe was laughable. Feeling wanted or loved wasn't meant for him. Everything was about survival. Anything else was wishful thinking. A fairytale. And yet…

There was a part of him, no matter how small, that hoped desperately that Naruto and Sakura were right. That maybe he was the lost prince, and that he had a brother waiting somewhere for him to come home. That just maybe, he had a family somewhere.

"Do you really think Sasuke is alive after all this time?" There was a strange vulnerability in his voice, that Hiei had never heard himself use before. He wasn't so sure he liked the feeling, but he needed to know.

"Without a doubt." Sakura smiled brightly at him. Even in the darkness of the train car, he could still make it out. "Remember when I told you about the time I saw him? In that procession? Well after they went on their way, I kept watching until the Royal Family was out of sight. You can believe this or not, but I swear, that day something in me just knew I'd see Prince Sasuke again. I can feel it in my gut."

Hiei snorted, "You're so confident because of a gut feeling?"

"Sometimes you just have to learn to trust," Sakura shrugged.

"So do you think I'm him?"

The question caught Sakura off guard, and her smile faltered momentarily. She hadn't actually put any thought into whether Hiei was actually the lost prince. She'd only spent time considering how Prince Itachi believing it might turn her and Naruto's lives around. Now being asked outright, she felt a little bad for not considering how much this might mean to Hiei.

"I think…If I were the Crown Prince, I would want you to be Sasuke."

Hiei didn't say anything in reply. Her answer had been clear enough. At least one half of the pair getting him to Tsukigakure doubted him when he already doubted himself enough.

…

Itachi glanced out the window, his cheek rested against his knuckles as he watched yet another imposter leave the estate. It was only recently that he'd allowed news of his survival to travel past Tsukigakure. He supposed some part of him wanted Orochimaru and his men to know they'd failed to eradicate the Uchiha line completely. He'd hoped to wait until Sasuke made his way back to him, but it had been years since he'd last seen his little brother. As the years passed, fear gripped him more and more. He'd told Sasuke to meet him on the island nation, and yet his brother never came.

News that he was alive and looking for Sasuke seemed to have traveled quickly. Almost a week after the announcement was made, the first of the imposters arrived, and they hadn't stopped coming since. Each time, his hopes would raise, only to plummet further and further each time.

"Your Highness?" The gentle voice of Hinata Hyuga pulled his attention from the window. The Hyuga's were another noble family that had fled Konoha the night of the attack on the palace. Their numbers were much smaller than they had been a decade ago, but they remained loyal to the crown. Hiashi Hyuga himself had been the one to open his home to Itachi when the young Crown Prince had finally made his way to Tsukigakure many years ago. "Your next appointment is here."

Itachi sighed and sat straighter at his desk. With his elbows on the desk and his hands laced, he rested his chin tiredly on his fingers. "Bring him in." He knew chances of this next young man being Sasuke were slim, but he had to hope. He knew Sasuke was somewhere out there looking for him as hard as he was looking for Sasuke.


End file.
